Mad Season
by Muzzy-Olorea
Summary: [MS] Set after [4.02 Safe]. Coming back to work was like coming home. Because home is where the heart is right?
1. Part One

**Mad Season**

**Set after S4 'Safe'. Coming back to work was like come home. 'Cos home is where the heart is right? S/M**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, Without A Trace or the F.B.I. I do however own my imagination, my Muse, my insanity, my fangirliness and my dreams.**_

**Part One**

**A/N:- Another One-Shot! I lie. It was originally going to be a one-shot but I got carried away and it's now too long – even for my one-shots -so instead I give you a ficlet! Lots of lyrics from Jo O'Meara's solo album because I love her, I love the album and the lyrics fit.**

'_**Even though your smile is always bright, I can see the heartache in your eyes, I'll take you through your darkest hour, I have been there too, But you pulled me through, I'll do the same for you.' – Jo O'Meara 'I Believe In You'**_

Martin watched as Jack moved away from his desk and over to the white board to wipe it down signalling the end of another day. At least that routine hadn't changed. It seemed that just about everything else had – and to top it all, they were getting a new Agent too. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Jack had said it wasn't because of him but him being off had certainly influenced that decision. He had said he was glad to be back and that was true. He had told Jack that he felt fantastic – that wasn't one hundred percent true. Frankly, he was still in a lot of pain but he wasn't going to tell anyone that, especially since Jack already didn't seem to buy the fact he was ready to be back at work – how many times had his boss asked him whether he was alright today?

As he filed away his last report, Samantha, Danny and Vivian walked in having just finished the handover of the case to the NYPD. "Anyone feel like going for a drink to celebrate our first day back as a team?" Vivian asked.

"You sure you two don't want to go home and get some rest?" Jack asked looking at Martin and Vivian.

"I'm fine." Martin said, biting his bottom lip as he got up so he wouldn't wince.

"Honestly Jack, stop babysitting us." Vivian said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm just concerned okay?" Jack said, pulling on his jacket.

"Remember what he was like with me when I came back to work after getting shot? You've got all that to look forward to." Samantha chuckled, nudging Martin playfully with her elbow.

"You coming?" Martin asked Danny. He had felt Danny had been avoiding him all day and when they had spoken Danny had looked awkward and almost guilty and Martin couldn't fathom why. Now though, Danny wasn't looking at him unsurely but was looking at Jack, his jaw set.

"No, I think I'm just going to head home." Danny said stoically.

Samantha sighed and turned to pick up her cell phone and keys from her desk and from reading her expression Martin could tell that something had gone down between Jack and Danny at the school.

"Don't be silly, join us." Jack said a touch gruffly with that look on his face. The two men stared at each other for a bit before Danny relented.

"Okay, just for a bit." He said, grabbing his bag.

"Cool, where shall we go? The usual?" Samantha asked, heading towards the door.

"No." Jack said shortly.

"Why not?" Samantha questioned.

"Remember last time we were in there? The barmaid who kept hitting on Jack." Vivian said with a laugh.

"Vivian, you promised not to bring that up!" Jack grumbled.

Martin smiled, slinging his jacket over his arm and taking his cane. The friendly banter was still there. At least some things didn't change.

…………………………………………..

As they headed down the busy New York streets, Samantha fell into step beside Martin as Vivian and Jack walked on ahead and Danny spoke on the phone.

"Well I won't be running the marathon any time soon." Martin said with a half smile as they lagged behind the others.

"Give it time. You're doing really well for someone who six weeks ago was lying unconscious in a hospital bed." Samantha said, her heart lurching as she thought of how close she had been to losing him.

"Yeah I suppose." Martin relented. He paused before looking at Samantha. "Thanks for phoning every couple of days whilst I was recuperating in Washington. Helped me still feel connected."

Samantha held his gaze and gave him a soft smile. "You're welcome." She said. "I would have come out and visit but Jack wouldn't even let me get an afternoon off work what with there only being three of us."

"With two Agents down - must have been pretty hectic." Martin said, leaning heavily on his cane as his hip started to ache.

"Well you know New York, people just love to go missing." Samantha sighed, rubbing her hands together. God the temperature had dropped dramatically in the past few hours. Leaving the house earlier today she had been sure she wouldn't be needing her coat today.

"Here." Martin said stopping and holding his cane in between his knees, he took his coat off his arm and held it open for Samantha.

Samantha looked at him and bit her lip. The gesture held so many memories for them. Evenings strolling through the park wrapped up in his coat with him cuddling her, partly to keep her warm, partly because they both enjoyed the contact. "You sure? You not cold?"

Martin watched as the flash of memories clouded her eyes and he wrapped the coat around her, leaning forward to fasten one of the buttons. "I really missed you." He said softly. And he had done. Many days were spent lounging on the settee in his parents' house, wondering if he had done the right thing ending it just like that. Things might not have been perfect between them but it was much better than not having her at all.

Samantha met his gaze and remembered how long it had been since she allowed herself to lose herself in his blue eyes. "I missed you too." She admitted quietly.

They stood there for a few seconds, letting the rest of New York pass around them, just staring until they heard Danny's voice carry over a crowd of Icelandic tourists.

"You guys hurry up – Jack said he's buying the first round but the offer's only open for the next few minutes." He called. The crowd parted and he saw Martin and Samantha wearing the coat. "Everything okay?" he asked glancing from one of them to the other.

Martin nodded and tore his eyes away from Samantha as they continued along the street.

"Thanks." Samantha said, enjoying the warmth the coat brought her as it transported her to a happier time. She stuck her hands in the pockets and her hand immediately clasped the small round object she had been used to finding in there, although she would have thought Martin would have taken it out now. She glanced over to Martin but he had obviously forgotten it was still in there. She fingered it nervously. God how she wished she could go back to that day when he first put it in there.

"_Did you notice how the waiter in there was totally checking you out?" Martin asked, lacing his fingers with Samantha's as they strolled home through the park one evening after dinner. It wasn't often that Samantha 'allowed' them to go out on dates but when they did she enjoyed every single minute of it and she might even catch herself thinking how stupid she was for not wanting their relationship to be more open. Tonight they'd gone to a restaurant the other side of town which she was sure no one else from work knew about and she'd even consented to a walk afterwards in the deserted park – if she could wear his coat of course._

"_He wasn't. I think I would have noticed if he was." Samantha smiled._

"_No, trust me, he was." Martin insisted._

"_You're just jealous." Samantha said, laughing lightly and moving closer to Martin, leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked._

"_I'm not jealous." Martin grumbled, trying to hide a smile._

"_You so are!" Samantha said, raising her head, looking for a kiss._

_Martin bent down and wrapped his arms around her, brushing his lips against hers. When they finally drew apart and carried on walking, Samantha couldn't resist teasing him some more. "You're so cute when you're jealous." She said playfully._

_Martin closed the gap between them and held her near with his arm around her waist. "I thought you said I had nothing to be jealous of." He said softly into her ear. His breath sending shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, wishing that they were at home already._

_Martin sensed she wanted the contact and started kissing her neck. She smiled as he left a trail of kisses over every bit of flesh he could get to. How did she get to be so lucky? This guy was just amazing and showed her happiness like she never even knew existed. Waking up in his arms every morning was bliss as were times like this when it was just the two of them alone but together._

"_What are you thinking of?" Martin asked, lifting his head up slightly to look into her eyes._

_Samantha shrugged and smiled. "Just how nice this is."_

"_What this?" Martin said, lowering his head again and nibbling at her neck._

"_Martin!" she said, swatting him away, trying to pull an angry face but only succeeded in laughing at Martin's cheeky grin. "I don't want to have to spend the whole day tomorrow fielding Danny's questions like last time."_

"_I thought it was quite amusing." Martin said with a mock-casualness._

"_You just like watching me squirm." Samantha pouted._

"_I like watching you do a lot of things." Martin said, his voice low and husky._

_They had stopped walking now and they stood there, facing each other, their heads only centimetres apart. Samantha gave in first and crushed her lips against Martin's, needing to taste him and feel him. He backed her off the path and into the trees. She moaned softly into the kiss. She had wanted this all day. Just seeing him sitting there across the aisle at his desk and not being able to drag him into the coffee room, drove her crazy. She had never felt this way before about any guy. And it wasn't just the physical attraction. No, this went way beyond that._

_As she entangled her hands in his hair, holding him close, she felt him undo the belt on her trench coat and run his hands up and down her body. She arched into him as he slipped his hand under her blouse making contact with her skin. Quite honestly, she didn't care if anyone could see them anymore. She was about to moan something incomprehensible when she heard something snap and Martin pulled away slightly._

"_Your button." He explained. They looked at each other for a moment and she wanted to tell him to forget about it but she knew tomorrow morning she would regret that decision._

_Martin switched on his torch and knelt on the ground, picking up the small pink object._

"_Guess, I've got some sewing to do tonight." Samantha said, holding her hand out for the button._

_Martin didn't give it to her. "No, I think you'll be busy doing other things tonight."_

_Samantha laughed softly. "Martin, we're going back to yours and I don't have any other clean clothes there. I was going to wear this tomorrow as well and now there's a button missing and since we've already established how jealous you can get, I don't think you'll appreciate every guy in New York staring at my breasts tomorrow."_

"_Why don't we worry about that tomorrow? Tonight you won't have to worry about wearing clothes." He smirked. "I'm gonna keep this." He said, slipping the button in his coat pocket. "It'll be like I'm carry a piece of you everywhere with me."_

_Samantha couldn't hide her smile as she tied up her coat and kissed him softly. "You're so cheesy."_

"_That's what you love about me." Martin chuckled, taking her hand and leading her back onto the path._

'_That and a thousand other things.' Samantha thought to herself. But she wasn't going to tell him that._

Danny led them into the bar and Martin was glad to see that this place certainly hadn't changed. The owner, Billy greeted them as if they were some sort of celebrities not FBI Agents and he cleared the glasses off their usual table faster than Martin could reach it.

"It's nice to be home." Martin said, taking his seat. The others laughed and Jack began taking their orders before making his way to the bar. Martin glanced at Samantha sitting next to him. Ever since he had offered her his coat, she had gone very quiet and now sat still wrapped up in it even though it dwarfed her and they were inside. Martin remembered coming into this bar almost a year ago to celebrate Vivian's promotion and his heart hurt just thinking about what came after. Maybe Samantha was remembering too.

"So this will be the last time it's just the five of us drinking here." Vivian said contemplatively once Jack was seated again. "What shall we drink to: new beginnings or old times?"

"To old friends and a new era." Jack said as they all raised their glasses.

"So, what's the new Agent like?" Danny asked, leaning forward eagerly and it was obvious that the air between the two men had cleared.

"You know I can't divulge any information about her." Jack said.

"So it's a 'her'!" Danny grinned triumphantly.

Jack looked slightly annoyed at his carelessness. "Yes it's a 'her'." He admitted reluctantly.

"Young or old?" Vivian asked.

"Blonde or brunette?" Danny pushed, winking at Martin.

Martin grinned but his smile almost immediately turned into a wince as the searing pain in his hip came back. He saw Danny look at him worriedly before tearing his eyes away finally when Martin gave him a look. He didn't even need to look at Samantha to know she was giving him worried glances as she sipped her drink quietly. Martin shifted a bit into a more comfortable position and gritted his teeth, putting on a brave face. "So has she done this FBI malarkey before or is she completely new?" he asked, tuning back into the conversation.

"You'll find out tomorrow. None of you are getting another word out of me." Jack said, crossing his arms.

"Remember how we nagged at you to tell us about Martin." Vivian said to Jack, giving Martin a smile.

"And you said that the interview had been very interesting!" Danny piped in.

Martin put on a shocked face and rounded on Jack. "You told them about that?"

Jack shook his head. "I didn't tell them anything that happened."

"Oh you've got to tell us now." Vivian ordered.

"Okay, but you've got to remember that I was incredibly nervous, alright?" Martin said, resigning to the fact that this tale was going to get told one way or another. "Basically in a nutshell it was the worst interview ever."

"I'd just finished the undercover op for the Staling's case and I was wearing my casual clothes as I hadn't had a chance to change and the moment I walked into my office where Martin was waiting, he turned to me and told me that I couldn't come in without permission from 'Jack Malone.'" Jack narrated, chuckling.

Martin buried his head in his hands in mock embarrassment. "I thought he was a member of the public and I didn't stop to read his name tag!"

"And once we got through the interview with relatively few mishaps, Martin went to shake my hand and was obviously too enthusiastic as he knocked half the stuff on my desk off." Jack continued. The others roared with laughter and Martin joined in. It felt good to laugh again. That was something else had had missed whilst in Washington.

Billy came over then with a grin on his chubby face and the Agents exchanged a look – he had obviously been eavesdropping again. "Another round of drinks guys?" he asked.

"Sure." Jack said. "We'll all have the same again thanks."

Billy nodded and collected the glasses but before he went away again he turned to Martin. "I heard what happened Agent Fitzgerald." He said, looking meaningfully at Martin's cane propped up against the wall.

Samantha felt Martin bristle up next to her and she looked at him anxiously. As a team, they had never discussed or brought up the shooting itself as they all mutually understood that Martin wouldn't want to relive the events of that day. Sure they had talked about Dornvald and Samantha had told him the whole story over the phone one evening but she was always careful to avoid questioning him on how much he could remember of the attack on the car.

She could see Martin tense up and the grin faded from his face. Samantha had been watching him before and every time she saw him wince with pain she felt something die inside of her and she wished she could do something for him. The brave façade didn't fool her and she wished that he would tell her what he was really going through. But then as the moment passed, he had managed to have a laugh with the rest of them. God how she loved seeing him smile again and the dimples on his cheeks with his eyes all lit up. She remembered how it used to be her who managed to make him smile like that and the aching in her heart only increased.

Martin shouldn't have been surprised that someone sooner or later from outside the office would bring up the shooting. The media, although somewhat restrainedly, had broadcast the fact that an FBI Agent had been seriously injured in NYC and they came in here enough times for Billy to feel like he wasn't being overtly rude in bringing it up. Maybe it was because he tried to avoid thinking about it most of the time but when he was forced to confront it directly, he couldn't help feeling frustration and anger that it had happened in the first place. He involuntarily clenched his fists up and his body went rigid. "Yeah." He said, his voice strained.

"I was sorry to hear that you were injured." Billy continued. "Hope you're feeling better now."

"Yes, yes, I'm doing great." Martin said, forcing a shadow of a smile out.

Billy nodded and seemed to get the hint as he took the glasses and away without another word.

As soon as he was gone, the others let out the breaths they had been holding and Vivian started talking, telling them about something Reggie had done the other day.

Samantha could see that the whole thing had thrown Martin off though. He was distracted and struggling to relax again. She don't know why she did it, she guessed she wanted to somehow share his pain, but she reached over and put her hand on top of his under the table. He didn't flinch or look at her quizzically and it was a good few minutes before he moved. Samantha thought he was going to take his hand away but instead he held her hand in his and gave it a squeeze, letting her know he was okay.

"You're quiet tonight Sam." Danny said, turning his attention to her.

Samantha quickly took her hand out of Martin's and took a sip of her drink nervously. "Am I? Guess I'm just a bit tired." She said.

"And cold." Vivian said pointedly and Samantha realised that she still hadn't taken off Martin's coat.

"Yeah, I …was." She said lamely, shifting uncomfortingly under the curious gaze of the others. God she was pathetic but she couldn't bring her to take the coat off.

"Danny, I heard about your new girl. How's that going?" Martin said lightly, taking the attention away from Samantha. She was acting strangely tonight, almost like a new, softer, vulnerable Samantha Spade. He had been startled by her slipping her hand over his in such a simple gesture but one which made him feel like he was floating. He wondered what she meant by it and he guessed it was to comfort him and to tell him not to dwell on what had happened with Dornvald so he had squeezed her hand back in a gesture of thanks – and she had kept her hand in his for awhile afterwards, until Danny had called on her and he saw the rare tinge of embarrassment rise in her cheeks.

"Oh Suzie – she's great." Danny said enthusiastically, eager to talk about his new girlfriend.

"She succumbed to that Taylor charm already then?" Vivian said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm taking her out tomorrow for dinner." Danny told them.

"God she must be special if she's getting dinner too." Jack said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Danny said, clasping his hand to his heart. "I'm insulted! Who do you think I am?"

"Danny Taylor." Martin chuckled.

"Well, I'm sorry to be boring, but I'm off now." Jack said putting his coat on. "But some of us have to be in extra early tomorrow to welcome Elena."

"Elena – her name's Elena!" Danny said triumphantly.

Jack nodded and laughed. "Yeah, I'm going now too." Vivian said, getting up.

"Have a good night." She said glancing at Martin and Samantha and sending Danny a meaningful look.

Once they had gone, Danny leaned forward, engaging Martin in a conversation about the latest baseball game whilst Samantha sat there lost in thought, rubbing the button in her pocket distractedly. Seeing Martin again today had totally thrown her off. After he ended it, she was cold and angry – mainly at herself for letting such a good thing get away. Then when she heard about the shooting, she was distraught and worried sick. On hearing he was okay, she was filled with relief and she enjoyed talking to him again, even if it was only on a superficial level over the phone. Now, seeing him back today, she felt so many conflicting emotions: happiness that she would get to see him every day again, hurt at seeing him so close but emotionally so far away, anger at herself for still feeling so weak when he sat next to her. She thought she had worked through that: strictly friends, strictly professionals but feeling his hand run up her back today when they hugged and the lingering looks that had passed between them, she knew she was in the danger zone again. Martin and Danny's conversation began to fade out more and more and instead she found herself concentrating on the song playing over the bar stereo. She knew the song well. Hell, it was practically all she had listened to for the past month.

'_**What hurts the most was being so close, And having so much to say, and watching you walk away, And never knowing what could have been, Not seeing that loving you is what I was trying to do …. But I know if I could do it over I would trade and give away all the words that I say in my heart that I left unspoken.'**_

God how true those words were.

"Sam, are you sure you're alright?" Samantha turned to Danny, startled, taking a few seconds to process what he said. "You've hardly said two words all evening."

Samantha could feel Martin's gaze on her and she made the mistake of glancing at him before she looked down at her hands wrapped around her glass. She hoped Martin hadn't been able to read her in that one look. But knowing Martin, he probably had been able to. "I'm fine Danny." She said at last looking at her friend. "So, you and Jack kissed and made up?"

Danny made a face. "I know I was an idiot but I think he was kinda harsh backing me up against that car."

"Wow, it's certainly been an interesting first day back." Martin sighed.

"And it's not over yet." Danny grinned, giving them a wink as he finished off his drink and stood up. "I'll leave you two to it then. See you tomorrow." He said, walking out of the bar without another word.

Samantha cursed Danny internally for being so damn obvious. Martin was probably thinking of heading for the door right now.

Martin watched Danny go out the door and glanced over at Samantha staring at the table, chewing on her bottom lip. It had been awhile since they had been alone together out of work. Hopefully there'd be no fighting tonight.

Samantha met Martin's gaze with a weak smile. "Guess it's just the two of us left then."

**A/N:- First part done there. Don't know how many parts this ficlet will consist of – maybe two, maybe three. Anyway, tell me if you like it so far!**


	2. Part Two

**Part Two**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, Without A Trace or the F.B.I. I do however own my imagination, my Muse, my insanity, my fangirliness and my dreams.**_

**A/N:- Part two! Sorry it took longer than I expected but I was slightly distracted. If you're allergic to fluff then I recommend you don't read this. Hehe. Oh and can I just say I really appreciate how many of you reviewed the first part.**

'**_A photo can say a thousand thing, But it can't say the million things I wanna say, A photo can capture the way we were But it can't capture the way we are, 'Cause you're far away, What it's like to know you, What it's like to touch you, When you told me that you loved me, were those just words, You can't tell me you don't need me and I know that hurts, 'Cause I'm looking at your picture, 'Cause it's all I've got, Maybe one day, You and me will have one more shot……' Ryan Cabrera's 'Photo'._**

_Dedicated To:_

_SusanWatFan, Raya519, WithoutATraceFreak, Mrs.Fitzgerald, Anna, Tea, Pealee, Dani, Sculder04, Pacificbluegirl, Sqully, Babs_

_Ariel3JLP – The whole button thing was extremely corny tongue-in-cheek wasn't it? Hehe. Apologise to your dog for me. I'm sure it didn't appreciate being scared! I think since I finished this ficlet we well and truly need an update from you missy. For both fics._

_Lu78 – I didn't know that YOU had started something new which I'm about to go and read. _

_TheNaggingCube – I just decided to make it a two-parter but this is a pretty long drawn out chapter to make up for it._

_Jordan202 – Hey there GrapeFace. Very sweet. I love your fics too, especially when I get characters named after me. Lol._

_Jtsideout389 – Sorry about that! This chapter will hopefully make up for it._

"Yeah." Martin said, moving his chair to face Samantha more easily. "You know, I meant what I said earlier – you look good." He really did mean it. Walking into the bull pen and seeing her and Vivian sitting there, he had stopped and just stared at her for a moment before making them aware of his presence. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him or she really had got even prettier this past month – if that was even possible. And when she turned and saw him and her face broke into a smile, she looked radiant. Hugging her, he smelt her hair and inhaled her scent and it really hit how much he had missed her. Looking at her closely, he knew his eyes were fine – she looked amazing. The dark rings from the lack of sleep, that had appeared shortly after the break up, had disappeared, her eyes were bright and she seemed to be literally glowing. To top things off, she had her hair down today, exactly how he liked it and he had to try very hard to resist running his fingers through it when they hugged. Having pulled apart, they had lost themselves in each other for a moment. Standing so close and getting caught in the moment, he had been this close to brushing his lips against hers. Luckily he had managed to control himself and draw them back to the case at hand. Now they were alone together he felt at liberty to stare as much as he liked without seeming obtrusive.

Samantha blushed slightly. He had no idea how long she had spent getting ready this morning – and she wasn't going to tell him. "Thanks." She said softly, raising her eyes to meet his. He was staring at her. Not in a bad way but in a way she hadn't seen him look at her for months, and she could do nothing except stare back.

"How you feeling?" Samantha asked at last, breaking eye contact.

Martin let out the breath he had been holding. "I'm fine."

"Cos I was wondering whether you wanted to come hang out at my apartment for a bit and catch up?" Samantha asked, hopefully.

Martin's heart soared. After all he had done to hurt her – ending it at work and everything – she still wanted to spend time alone with him? The only thing stopping him from grinning like a schoolboy was the thought that with the way he had been feeling around her this evening, he didn't know if he trusted himself to go back to her apartment. He just needed to let his guard down for a second then all the work she had done to get their friendship back on track would all have been for nothing. "You not tired?"

Samantha shook her head. He was nervous, she could tell. Probably trying to figure out if she had any hidden intentions. In all honesty she just wanted to spend more time alone with him and she never wanted this evening to end. Hopefully he would say yes and she would have a couple more hours alone with him, sipping hot chocolate on the sofa whilst she told him all about the cases he had missed in more detail than she had had time to do in her daily phone calls.

"Sure, shall we go then?" Martin said, following his heart not his head. He waited until Samantha had turned her back to get out before he stood up. Going from the sitting to standing position was agony and he had to bite down hard on his tongue to stop himself from crying out. He screwed his face up in pain, hoping that Samantha wouldn't turn round and see him like this. But she did. And she looked away again before he saw her looking at him. Though seeing him like that made her want to run up to him and help him, he obviously didn't want her fussing over him and she knew from when she was shot that sometimes having people overly attentive made things worse. Instead she settled on handing him his cane as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world.

As they stood outside waiting for a cab, Martin couldn't help realise that they were standing in exactly the same spot as last time. Then he fell into recalling what had happened afterwards. Glancing at Samantha, he could tell she was thinking about it too. She was examining her nails distractedly and chewing on her bottom lip both things she did when she was anxious. Martin couldn't help worrying that this was too soon for them. Of course, they had been apart for a couple months now and there was no reason they shouldn't work on their friendship but going back to her apartment? Spending time alone with her there? Martin didn't trust himself. Just as he was about to suggest they leave it until another day, Samantha looked up at him and gave him a small smile and he knew there was no going back.

They got into the cab and sat there in silence for awhile until it became so obvious that they were thinking of the same thing that Samantha could only think that bringing it up might relieve some of the tension. "Brings back memories doesn't it?" she said softly, smiling at him weakly.

Martin nodded. "Yeah." He said, holding her gaze for a minute before looking away.

Samantha sighed and looked out of the window. Hopefully it wouldn't be this awkward all evening ….. but was all the awkwardness necessary a bad thing? She pondered it as they got out of the cab and walked up to her apartment. Maybe it meant there was still something between them and she wasn't just imagining it? She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. Martin had ended it for a reason – he simply didn't feel that way about her anymore. Besides working on their friendship was the most important thing.

Martin leant heavily on his cane for support as they got into the elevator and watched the little red numbers slowly increase as they went up. Not too long ago when they used to make this same trip after work, he would be pressing Samantha up against the wall of the lift, sucking her neck, his hands slowly moving up her blouse, teasing her. The elevator ride seemed to go much quicker then.

Samantha led the way into her apartment in silence. Why had she been so naïve to think this would be the best thing to do? She could have suggested dinner, a late night café or they could have even stayed in the bar but oh no she had to just go and be impulsive. "Tea? Coffee? Soda?" she asked, reluctantly taking off his coat with a smile of thanks before hanging it on the coat hook.

"A juice would be great thanks." Martin said, slowly making his way into the living room. "New sofa?" he stated, eyeing it warily.

"Oh yeah. I felt the room needed a change." Samantha called from the kitchen. It was only partly true. In truth, everything about that room reminded her of Martin, in a way more than her bedroom. Besides, refurnishing the room had given her something to focus on after their break up.

Martin looked around. The sofa wasn't the only thing that had changed. New curtains and a coffee table – and a glass case in the corner full of knick knacks. The TV had been moved into a cabinet on top of which there were many photo frames. Checking that Samantha was still in the kitchen, he moved closer to have a look. There was a photo of her mother and her sister taken before Samantha had moved to New York, a picture of her and a few of her friends all dressed up at a party and then there were some which he remembered clearly – a team photo of the five of them at the Christmas party last year and then a collection of photos which he wondered at her still having out on display. There was one of the two of them laughing and cuddling in the park when they were messing about with her new digital camera and another of them at dinner in the fancy restaurant he had taken her to for their anniversary and a cute one of them sleeping. Martin remembered Danny taking that when the three of them had been sent to the other side of the country for a case – Martin and Samantha had both fallen asleep and subconsciously snuggled up together in their seats. He smiled sadly at all the memories. They had so many good times together he was an A-class idiot for throwing it all away.

Samantha stood in the doorway to the lounge, watching Martin look at the photos and she froze. She had completely forgotten that she had them all out on display. It wasn't that she was purposely not trying to move on but more that just looking at them made her remember what it was like to be the happiest she had ever been. Her heart started racing as she watched Martin carefully pick up the one of them in his apartment cuddling and kissing. He seemed oblivious to the fact that she was watching him – he was obviously too caught up in the memories. Samantha watched as he trailed a finger over the photo, as if he was physically trying to get inside of the memory and she almost stopped breathing. She wished she could just ask him outright what he was feeling. And perhaps he would just reply that he was surprised that she had the photos out on the first place. When they were together, her apartment contained the bare minimal amount of sentimentality. One photo of her family and certainly no photos of her and Martin 'in case some one from work came round to drop off some files.' Martin had never told her how much that it hurt him that she was almost ashamed of him, but Samantha could see how upset he was. But she had never apologised for it and he had never brought it up again.

Stirring herself, she slipped back into the kitchen to get the glasses and walked back in. Martin, startled, quickly placed the photo back down and wandered back over to the sofa. "I like what you've done to the place." He said genuinely, putting his cane down and rubbing his hands together nervously.

"Kinda makes it more homely doesn't it?" Samantha said, handing him his drink before joining him on the sofa.

"So, what have you been doing with yourself since I've been gone?" Martin asked, cradling his glass.

"Oh, well, work's been really busy …….." Samantha started but Martin shook his head slightly.

"No, I mean outside of work." He corrected.

Samantha stared at him for a beat of a second. What was he asking? Whether she had started seeing someone else? Whether she had moved on? Or maybe he was just asking a simple question. "Well, you know work took up most of my time. With two agents down and Jack wary of letting Danny do too much, I worked double shifts sometimes to get all the paperwork done …"

"Jack let you work double shifts?" Martin questioned, raising his eyebrows.

Samantha shrugged. "Jack didn't know."

"But why? The Bureau doesn't expect any Agent to work double shifts unless it's a really important case…" Martin said frowning.

"I know. But I wanted to." Samantha said, growing a little embarrassed. "I guess I thought, if I concentrated on my work, I'd have less time to worry about other things." She said quietly.

There was an awkward silence as Martin looked away, touched by the all new sensitive side to Samantha. She had changed and she was obviously making an effort to show him this. He guessed that the thing that had surprised him the most about the apartment were all the photos of them she had out. Maybe he wasn't the only one still living in the past.

"Well, you've certainly missed a few interesting cases …" Samantha started and then continued to narrate details of a few cases, all of the time her eyes examining the detailed pattern of her coffee table. After ten minutes had passed, she knew she was babbling and talking just to avoid them lapsing into silence again. She was still looking down at the table but all this time she could feel Martin's eyes on her, watching her and she wished she could know what he was thinking.

Martin knew for a fact that Samantha only rambled this much when she was nervous or trying to avoid bringing up other subjects and it was one of the many things he found endearing about her.

Samantha trailed off before finally finding the guts to meet his gaze. Martin put down his glass. "Samantha I …." He started, but he couldn't find the words to say what he wanted.

"What?" she asked softly.

"I, erm ….. nothing." He finished lamely, still looking at her. His mind went blank looking at her – everything just faded away except her. And him. And how much he wanted her back.

Samantha stared at him, knowing she was this close to just moving closer, and pressing her lips against his. It was certainly what she wanted to do but was it what he wanted? She wasn't sure and she wasn't about to make things so much worse between them by giving into her impulses, and before she had time to think about it, the words had left her mouth. "Oh, you could take some of your stuff back since you're here." She said, getting up and walking into her bedroom.

Martin watched her walk away and felt as if he'd just been punched in the stomach. All evening, he'd been building up his hopes, convincing himself that the attraction between them was just as mutually strong as ever and then she had gone and said that. He had thought that as an Agent, he could read people very well, and that he knew Samantha better than most and from the lingering looks that had passed between them in the past two hours, he had allowed himself to hope. Obviously he had just been seeing what he had wanted to see.

With a groan, he heaved himself up and limped across the room, refusing to use his cane. She had certainly made that very clear and he couldn't say he blamed her – he had had his chance with her and had just thrown it away.

Samantha heard Martin come into her bedroom and turned away from him, opening the wardrobe, trying to remember where she had stored all his clothes. Why? WHY did she have to go and say that? Martin had just been through such a lot and whether he was just interested in rebuilding their friendship – or more – mentioning him taking his stuff was never going to make him feel good. She really hated herself sometimes.

Martin stood by her bed awkwardly. Nothing had changed in here – the bed was made neatly, her vanity table ordered and the same book which she had been trying to read when they were still together lay on her bedside table. On top of the bed covers he saw something he thought looked oddly familiar and he picked it up. It was his college T-shirt. What was it doing on his bed looking like it had been slept in?

"Sam?" he said, holding it up.

She turned from the wardrobe, her eyes widening a bit and her cheeks reddening. "Oh yeah, sorry, that's yours as well." She said with a nervous laugh.

"You've been wearing it?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, to bed." Martin was still looking at her questioning and she shifted under his gaze. "I guess when you were in Washington, having it on just made me feel ……… closer to you." She explained softly, embarrassed that he seemed to finding out all these little secrets about the last few weeks, all at once. Too scared to see his reaction, she turned back to the wardrobe. There were his suits all clean, ironed and hung up on the hangers. She ran her hand over them but she couldn't bring herself to take them off the rail. Doing so would be like ending things once and for all and she didn't think she would ever be ready to do that. She moved the hangers up and down the rail, hoping that Martin would just think she was still looking for his clothes.

Samantha didn't notice he had moved until he was standing right behind her. He didn't give her time to turn around, instead he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer into his embrace. Her head started spinning and she took her hands off the suits. She didn't know what was happening but she was tingling all over. She could feel his breath on her neck tickling her before he leant down and started kissing her skin. She closed her eyes and leant back, her head on his shoulder, exposing her neck.

In that split second Martin was sure of what he wanted and seeing her with her back towards him, he had approached her, praying that she wouldn't push him away. But she didn't, instead she melted into his arms, letting him kiss her. And he did. He couldn't describe what he felt at being able to feel her soft skin on his lips again as he slowly made his way along her collarbone. He could feel her breathing become laboured and he was about to turn her around so he could kiss her properly when the sharp shrill of the doorbell broke the magic. Martin felt Samantha freeze in his arms for a split second and he released his grip around her. "Excuse me." She muttered, slipping past him and heading towards the door without looking at him once.

Martin sighed and sat down on her bed to give his aching leg a rest. He had to figure out what he was going to do next.

Samantha reached the door, feeling hot and flushed, praying it wasn't Mrs Watson from next door asking whether she had any milk again. It wasn't. But it was the next worse thing – a door-to-door salesman. She opened the door irritably, listened to the young gentleman trying to interest her in double glazing for two minutes before she cut him off curtly and promptly closed the door. Closing her eyes, she leant against the wall for a minute trying to process what had just happened with Martin. Was he telling her he wanted her back or was he just comforting her and was about to pull away and tell her once and for all that he couldn't do this? She was scared. Scared that she would walk back into that room and he would shatter her hopes once and for all.

Running a hand through her hair, she walked back into her bedroom with a sigh, and saw that Martin was sat on her bed with his back towards her. She gingerly climbed onto her bed and crawled over and sat down next to him, swinging her legs off the side of the bed in silence.

"You still have this?" he said, with a faint smile showing her the teddy bear he had been holding.

"Of course." Samantha said. Of course she still had it. It had been one of the many things in the large package he had given her for Valentine's Day last year. "He even gets to sleep in my bed now." She said with a light laugh, referring to the fact, he had always somehow ended up out of the bed and on the floor whenever they had spent the night at her apartment.

Martin acknowledged her comment with a slight nod and put the teddy bear back on her bedside table and sat there, looking down at the floor, rubbing his hands together. Samantha realised that after he had taken such a big risk earlier, maybe it was time she made the next move to make sure they both wanted the same thing. She slid closer and rested her hand on Martin's thigh. "Martin." She said, making him look at her.

And it was then, in that moment, when his eyes met hers that he felt it again. The feeling that only she could make him feel. They didn't stop to think then. Instead they both leant forward, pressing their lips against each other, both sure of what they wanted. It was long, deep and passionate and more intense than Samantha would have thought possible. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she felt his hands move down her back.

"I'm sorry for hurting you." Martin said, muffling his face in her shoulder as he sucked on her neck, catching his breath.

"I'm sorry for causing the hurt in the first place." Samantha said, looking for his lips again. As much as she wanted him, knew they couldn't get too carried away firstly because of his hip and also because they really needed to talk. Damn he tasted even better than she had remembered. She pulled away just far enough so she could look him in the eye. "Martin, I love you." She said simply. Seeing the grin break out on his face was a moment she would never forget. "I only wish I told you sooner."

"I love you too Samantha." Martin replied feeling like he was on cloud nine. And then he didn't have time to dwell on it anymore. She was pushing him back down on the bed, her lips never leaving his, her hands, slowly moving up his shirt. He let a groan escape his lips and felt Samantha smile against him.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you." She said softly, removing his shirt.

"You're doing something to me, but I don't think it's hurting." Martin said, pulling her down, needing to taste her again. This day just kept getting better and better. First, being back at work, seeing everyone again, having her hug him in the office in front of Vivian, having a laugh with the team in the bar, Sam inviting him back to her apartment, seeing the embarrassment cross her face as he discovered her sentimental side and now this………

Samantha ran her hand gently up his torso. God she had missed this so much. Just being able to touch him, feel him, kiss him whenever she wanted …………

Then his cell phone started ringing from his trouser pocket. She lifted her head up and they looked at each other for a minute, listening to the sound of their heavy breathing and the shrill ring tone.

"Don't answer it." Samantha said, kissing him again.

Martin groaned and pulled the phone from his pocket. "It's my Mom checking up on me." He said, taking a deep breath to calm his breathing before answering it. Sam planted a kiss on his forehead before rolling off him to let him take the call.

"Hey Mom." Martin said, trying not to sound so breathless. "Yeah, I know I'm not at my apartment……… erm, yes……. I'm at my girlfriend's place …….. Samantha … yeah I know ……. It's a long story ……" Samantha couldn't help but smile, hearing Martin call her his girlfriend. She felt so proud.

Martin shifted a bit to look at Samantha and rolled his eyes at her at the fact his mother wouldn't stop talking. "Ehuh, yep …… I'm fine…… was a hard case for my first day back but ……. Yeah …." Martin was barely listening to what his mother had to say anymore. He reached over and trailed his hand through Samantha's hair tenderly. How did he get so lucky twice? "Yep, yep, you'll get all the details soon Mom." Martin said a little exasperatedly.

Samantha dropped her gaze to Martin's torso. The scars from where he got shot still hadn't healed properly. It scared her that Martin was just as vulnerable as the rest of them and the fact she had been so close to losing him …. She shifted closer to him, cuddling him, needing comfort and reassurance and Martin got the message. "Look, I have to go now Mom. Talk to you later." He said, dropping his cell phone onto the bedside table before wrapping his arms around Samantha.

"So, I'm your girlfriend again then?" she smiled.

"If you want to be." Martin said, drawing her into another kiss.

After a while Samantha pulled away and glanced down at his wounds. "Do they still hurt a lot?"

"Sometimes, not at the moment." He said, his hand unconsciously moving down the front of her blouse undoing the buttons. "Have I told you that you're beautiful? And gorgeous." He said, rolling over and pushing her down on the bed, careful not to hurt his hip. "And sexy, and-" Samantha cut him off, crushing her lips against his. Somewhere along the way she had lost her blouse and his hands were roving everywhere. She knew that they should cool things down because she didn't want to make his hip worse but she only got as far as saying "Martin-" and even that came out more like a moan than a protest.

'Ring Ring'

Samantha groaned and buried her face in Martin's chest. "Make it go away." She said, her voice muffled against his skin.

Martin chuckled. "At least it's not me this time – it's your land line."

Sighing, Samantha swung her legs over the side of the bed and picked up the phone.

"_Heya Sam, it's Rachel here. Haven't spoken to you for ages and was just wondering how you're getting on."_

"Hi Rach. Yeah, I'm fine." Samantha really didn't want to talk to her now but she couldn't just cut her off since she already felt bad for not phoning her friend back last time. Things had just been so hectic. She let her friend babble on for a bit, feeling Martin move behind her and start kissing her bare skin again, making it increasingly difficult for her to focus on what Rachel was telling her about her new job. Then she felt him unhook her bra and she glared at him and all he did was smirk back. He was teasing her, seeing how long it would take for her to give in and with the way he was going, it wouldn't be long. Her breathing soon became staggered and she obviously couldn't hide it from her friend.

"_You okay?"_ Rachel asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Samantha said, leaning back, giving Martin's roving hands full access.

"_You got someone there Sam?" _Rachel questioned, amused.

"Erm, yeah, Martin." She half said, half moaned as he moved his hands lower. She felt Martin take the phone from her hands and she didn't have the energy to stop him.

"Sorry Rachel, but she's going to have to call you back." He said, before putting the phone down.

"You are so evil." Samantha said, swiping him playfully as they lay back down. "I didn't do that to you when you were on the phone to your Mom."

"Well there's a slight difference between Rachel and letting your future mother-in-law hear you doing those kind of things to her only son."

"Mother-in-law, eh?" Samantha questioned, eyebrows raised. She had certainly surprised herself. She wasn't gripped with a sudden fear at hearing Martin mention their future and possible marriage. Instead it sounded so natural, so like something she wanted.

"Are you still dead against the idea of a serious future with me maybe a wedding someday?" Martin asked, a little worriedly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears. "Because if you are then it doesn't change things between us. Before, I thought that because you didn't want to get married, it meant that you didn't see a future together but now all that stuff isn't important to me anymore. As long as I have you I can do without the picket fence." He said truthfully, searching her eyes.

Samantha smiled. "Well the truth is." She said quietly, lowering her head until they were only millimetres apart. "You may be able to do without the picket fence but I can't because there's no way I'm raising our children in an apartment in the centre of New York. And I happen to think you look extremely sexy in a suit so don't think you're going to get out of wearing a tux at our wedding either." She went to kiss him but he moved his head a bit to look into her eyes.

"Are you serious?" he asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"I'm more serious about this than anything else in my entire life." Samantha said softly. "I want these things Martin. But only with you."

"You're amazing." He said, looking at her so tenderly.

Samantha shook her head slightly. "No I'm not. I'm just so in love with you."

Martin smiled and kissed her softly. He was home at last.

**A/N:- There you go, a nice healthy dose of fluff. I'm going to leave it there as I've got some other fics I really want to finish/get started on.**


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